| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Colombian Earth Snake |
| Synonym | Geophis nigro-albus BOULENGER 1908
Catastoma nigroalbum — AMARAL 1929: 192
Geophis brachycephalus — DOWNS 1967: 146
Geophis negroalbus — MYERS 2003: 32 (in error)
Geophis nigroalbus — WILSON & TOWNSEND 2007: 15
Geophis nigroalbus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 304 |
| Distribution | Colombia (Antioquia, Santander, and Valle de Cauca, Cordillera Oriental), 900-1700 m elevation (1350–1680 m fide SAVAGE & WATLING 2008).
Type locality: Near Pavas, Valle, Colombia.
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| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.6.50 (formerly BMNH 1909.4.30.71), juvenile, collected by N.G. Palmer, purchased from Rosenberg. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Distinguished from other species in the Geophis brachycephalus complex by the following combination of characters: (1) ventrals 134–143.5 ± 3.8–149 in males, 141–148.0 ± 5.2–157 in females; subcaudals 42–46.3 ± 2.1–51 in males, 37–41.3 ± 2.8–46 in females; total segmentals 180–190.0 ± 3.6– 197 in males, 181–189.3 ± 7.5–203 in females; (2) upper surfaces of body and tail uniform black; (3) hemipenis slightly bilobed with a long, slender capitulum about 3 times length of truncus (Myers, 2003). |
| Comment | Synonymy: This species has been considered a synonym of Geophis brachycephalus (e.g. PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970; Villa et al. 1988). |
| Etymology | Named after Latin nigrum, black, dark and Latin albus, white, pale. [“...Blackish above; head behind the supraoculars and frontal and lower parts white....”]. (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024) |
| References |
- Amaral,A. do 1930. Estudos sobre ophidios neotropicos XVIII. Lista remissiva dos ophidios da região neotropica. Mem. Inst. Butantan 4: 126-271 [1929] - get paper here
- Boulenger, George A. 1908. Descriptions of new batrachians and reptiles discovered by Mr. M. G. Palmer in South-western Colombia. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) 2 (12): 515-522 - get paper here
- Downs, F. L. 1967. lntrageneric relations among colubrid snakes of the genus Geophis Wagler. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 131: 1-193. - get paper here
- García-Cobos D, Corrales-García A, Cárdenas-Arévalo G, Paternina-Hernández A, Acosta-Galvis AR 2020. First record of the goo-eater snake, Geophis nigroalbus Boulenger, 1908 (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), in the Magdalena Valley, Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. Check List 16(1): 115-119 - get paper here
- Myers, C.W. 2003. Rare Snakes—Five New Species from Eastern Panama: Reviews of Northern Atractus and Southern Geophis (Colubridae: Dipsadinae). American Museum Novitates 3391: 1-47 - get paper here
- Pérez-Santos,C. & Moreno, A.G. 1988. Ofidios de Colombia. Museo reegionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Monographie VI, 517 pp.
- Restrepo T J H; Wright J W 1987. A new species of the colubrid snake genus Geophis from Colombia. Journal of Herpetology 21 (3): 191-196 - get paper here
- Savage, Jay M.; Watling, James I. 2008. Not so rare snakes: a revision of the Geophis sieboldi group (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) in lower Central America and Colombia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 153(3):561-599 - get paper here
- Valencia-Zuleta A, Jaramillo-Martínez AF, Echeverry-Bocanegra A, Viáfara-Vega R, Hernández-Córdoba O, Cardona-Botero VE, Gutiérrez-Zúñiga J, Castro-Herrera F. 2014. Conservation status of the herpetofauna, protected areas, and current problems in Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 8 (2): 1–18 (e87) - get paper here
- Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
- WILSON, L.D. & J.H. TOWNSEND 2007. A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation. Zootaxa 1395: 1-31 - get paper here
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